Homeland security — 10 a.m. — The House Committee on Homeland Security holds a hearing, “The 2006 Budget Proposal: Enhancing Terrorism Preparedness for First Responders.” Witnesses include Penrose Albright, assistant secretary of science and technology at the Homeland Security Department, and Matt Mayer, acting executive director of the department’s Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness. Location: 2212 Rayburn House Office Building. Contact: 202/226-9600.

PRESIDENT BUSH

Discusses Social Security reform in Raleigh, N.C., and Blue Bell, Pa.

ECONOMIC REPORTS

8:30 a.m. — Bureau of the Census and Bureau of Economic Analysis release a report on U.S. international trade in goods and services for December. Location: 14th Street between E Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Contact: 202/482-2235.

10 a.m. — Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee holds a hearing, “The Role of the Government Sponsored Enterprises in the Mortgage Market.” Witnesses include John Weicher, federal housing commissioner and assistant secretary of housing in the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Richard Green, a professor at the George Washington University School of Business; and Anthony Sanders, professor of finance at Ohio State University. Location: 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Contact: 202/224-7391.

10 a. m. — Small Business Committee holds a hearing, “The President’s Fiscal 2006 Budget Request: What Does It Mean For Small Business?” Witnesses include Hector Barreto, administrator of the Small Business Administration; Tony Wilkinson, president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders; and Don Wilson, president of the Association of Small Business Development Centers. Location: 311 Cannon House Office Building. Contact: 202/225-5821.

Iraq after elections — 10 a.m. — Brookings Institution’s Saban Center holds a discussion, “Iraq After the Elections.” Participants include Bathsheba Crocker of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Michael O’Hanlon of Brookings, and Noah Feldman of the New York University School of Law. Location: Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Contact: 202/797-6105.

Sex education legislation — 10:30 a.m. — Members of Congress hold a press conference to introduce the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, to provide funding to states for comprehensive sex education programs that would include information about abstinence and contraception. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, New Jersey Democrat, and Rep. Barbara Lee, California Democrat, participate. Location: SC-6, U.S. Capitol. Contact: 202/225-2661.

Book discussion — 10:30 a.m. — American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research holds a book discussion, “The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy.” Participants include authors Peter Huber and Mark Mills, Spencer Reiss of Wired magazine, and Steven Hayward of the American Enterprise Institute. Location: AEI, 1150 17th St. NW, Wohlstetter Conference Center, 12th floor. Contact: 202/862-4871.

Faith-based initiative — 11 a.m. — Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Religious Liberties Practice Group holds a discussion, “A Post-Election Look at Charitable Choice and the President’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative.”

Highlights — 11:30 a.m. — Jim Towey of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, “The Faith-Based Initiative Agenda and the Bush Administration”

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